The Marriage Escape
by KSNG
Summary: Draco Malfoy finds himself forced to marry Astoria Greengrass. Read about his escape to a country that is so much different from his home, and find out wether he come back to his wedding. I wrote this so that it'll fit with the story. I hope you enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Draco wasn't happy with his mother's decision. "Why? What is she to me? Why can't I get a say in this?" he asked every time his mother as much as tried to mention Astoria. She had stopped trying to talk to him now, but that didn't mean that she'd call off the engagement.

Draco was sitting in his room at Malfoy Manor. A few weeks ago he had been told that he was expected to marry Astoria Greengrass. He vaguely remembered her from school; he hadn't talked to her much, nor had he talked much to her sister, Daphne. But now he was set to marry her. He wasn't a child, he was twenty-three. He wanted to run off, to get away. Go to Ireland, or further, to the main-land. Somewhere secluded in Europe, or perhaps go all the way to Asia. But that might be a bit far, he had decided, so thus far he was planning on Europe. He had no idea if he'd get away, and if so, how far he'd get. All he knew was that he needed to get away. He could go to Bulgaria, to Durmstrang – finish school there, it wasn't as if his seventh year had been much of school. Or he could go to France and finish at Beauxbatons. He just didn't feel like going to school, though that might be his best cover-up. But there were other possibilities. Go somewhere they wouldn't look for him – Asia was back in his mind, and America popped up too – somewhere far away or stupid. Maybe somewhere cold, up north – Russia or Northern Scandinavia – or somewhere hot, like South America and Africa.

But as all these thought flew through Draco's head, along with many others, he knew he couldn't leave. Not because of his wedding, or his mother. Not because of the trouble it would cause him. No, it was because of himself. What he'd done, who he was. It belonged here, in Britain. Most of it belonged at Hogwarts. He belonged there too, now. He wanted to go there, wanted to finish school. But he couldn't. It would only give him one year, one year of knowing about the marriage he didn't want. No, he'd rather be over with and get on. Get a life. A house, a job, a family. He couldn't do that if he abandoned Astoria.

Next day, Draco went to visit Astoria. He hadn't met her much, neither before or after the engagement. He didn't want to, but on the other hand he didn't want to marry her without getting to know her. If she was all happy-ish about the engagement, then he might be a bit more tempted to go back to school.

Draco knocked the front door of the Greengrass' house. It wasn't particularly large, but it wasn't small either, and it had a touch of magic without being too obvious. It was in the middle of a muggle town. He sort of liked it.

Mr. Greengrass opened the door. "Oh, Mr. Malfoy, please come in. Astoria is expecting you," he said. "Thank you, Mr. Greengrass," Draco replied with a polite smile, wondering if it was normal to call you soon-to-be son-in-law by his last name. But then, it might not be normal to call you soon-to-be father-in-law by his last name. Truth to be told, Draco had yet to hear what Astoria's parents were named.

Draco followed Mr. Greengrass to a lounge were Astoria sat, a rather stiff smile on her face. This cheered Draco up a bit; she was as much against the engagement as he was. But it could also be that she simply was against marrying someone so much older – perhaps she preferred if he was to marry Daphne, who was his age.

"Hello Draco," she said, her voice only slightly more welcoming than the smile on her face. "Please sit down. Tea?" She spoke a bit too fast, Draco noticed. He sat down beside her and poured himself a cup of tea. If nothing else, at least he had been properly raised, he knew not to ask anything of her just yet.

Mr. Greengrass left the lounge. Before he left, however, Draco noticed a sly smile upon his face. He had been setting up this engagement, Draco realized. He'd known all along, of course, he'd just sort of hoped that it might have been Astoria herself who'd requested the engagement. That would mean she had some spirit, some will. _Would've been wonderful, but I'm afraid I'll have to deal with this,_ Draco thought.

"Draco, I know neither of us want this marriage, so lets just get one thing clean," Astoria said. She seemed less stiff now that her father had gone. "I don't care one bit about you. And the only reason I agreed to this engagement is that Daphne is already married. If not, I would've convinced them to take her. I know it don't matter to you."

"You're right. What do I care, if I marry you or Daphne. Preferably neither. I would've run off, but that didn't seem fair to you. I might not care, I still don't want to hurt you. Now, however, I can see that it'll only cheer you up," Draco said, not in any particular tone. If anything, he sounded like one who was simply keeping a boring conversation alive. "Well, run away if you so please," Astoria said indifferently. "I might," Draco replied. They sat in silence for a while, drinking their tea.

"If you do run away, where will you go?" Astoria asked. "I don't know. Somewhere far away where they can't find me," Draco said thoughtfully. Astoria narrowed her eyes and looked at him. "Why run away? Will you be more free then, do you think? Don't you think they'll find you? Or is it because there is a girl?"

"That," Draco said, "I don't know. I don't know if I will be more free, I don't know if they'll find me. All I know is that I want to get away. I don't want to marry you, or anyone else. I want to go somewhere different, somewhere that my parents don't make decisions for me. I don't want this Astoria. I want to decide for myself who I am to marry," he said seriously, frustrated. Astoria nodded sympathetically. "So do I. I do have a man I love. But I cannot marry him, simply because he's a muggle. I don't care, why should they?" she said. Draco was surprised to find that Astoria loved a muggle, but it didn't annoy him much. All the better, it meant she could be sort of happy. If just it hadn't been a muggle. "If you love him, go marry him, I don't care. All the better," he said. Astoria looked at him curiously. "I thought you were for the whole blood purity," she said. "I am. But if it means that I needn't marry just yet I can deal with it."

"Of course. You're a tolerant man for a pure-blood Draco."

"No, I am not. I am simply a desperate man."

"Then run away. Go home now, I don't want you here. Go home, pack your stuff and run away. I will cover for you. Say that you would be leaving for some wedding plans, I don't know. But get away. Get out of this marriage, none of us want it." When Astoria finished her speech, she seemed out of breath. She sank back, into the couch.

"I will," Draco said quietly. He met Mr. Greengrass in the hall. "So, did you plan anything yet?" he asked expectantly. "Yes. I will be leaving to get some stuff for the wedding – outlandish, only the best is good enough, and I don't trust those people who claim that they'll bring it," Draco said. Mr. Greengrass nodded satisfied.

When Draco got home he immediately started packing his stuff. He wanted to leave that very same night, before he got himself talked out of it. He had yet to find out where to go, but he knew that he had to get there by muggle means. He would be too easy to track if he travelled by magical means.


	2. Chapter 2

**I swear, every place and thing I refer to is pretty much real, and it existed back when this was written. If you don't believe me, Google it, but don't expect results in English.**

**Chapter 2**

Draco took an airplane out of England. He wasn't sure what country he was going to – the ticket said Kangerlussuaq, wherever that was – but he knew it was far away from England. He only hoped it was nowhere too cold, or too hot. He had to land somewhere – Reykjavik, at least he knew that was Iceland – and wait for three hours. He figured it wasn't so bad.

When Draco arrived in Reykjavik, he had a shock. It was cold there, and a man told him there ought to have been snow. It was only October.

Draco asked the man where this Kangerlussuaq was – he was laughed at for his pronunciation – and was told that it was in Greenland. _Oh great,_ he thought sarcastically. _Greenland. I'm sure I'll have a wonderful time._

The three hours in Reykjavik turned out to be very boring. There was almost nothing to do, and very few people spoke English. He couldn't understand anyone here, and he was told even fewer spoke English in Greenland, and that their language was far more complicated. He hoped he could learn it, for he intended to stay there if he wasn't found. Maybe track down some other wizard and see if there was some sort of school there he could go to, or a ministry he could work at. Else he'd need to get a muggle job, which he didn't want.

Kangerlussuaq turned out to be even worse than Reykjavik. He arrived in a large airport, which was okay, but next to no one spoke English. Whenever he tried to speak to someone, they answered him with a look, and a sentence he had quickly found out what meant: "I don't understand." It was different how they said it, but the message was quite clear. At last a receptionist turned out to speak a bit of English.

"A hotel?" he asked. "Yes. There is one away from here. Will you know where?" the receptionist answered. It wasn't perfect English, but it was understandable.

"Yes. Where is the hotel?" Draco said. He'd long ago given up speaking as he usually would. By now he spoke as if to a kinder-gardener.

The receptionist showed him to a bus. She spoke to the driver for a while in a language Draco didn't understand. There seemed to be a lot of Q's and a lot of long words. How one could ever learn a language like that was beyond him.

"He take you to the hotel. Here is the key," the receptionist said. Draco took the key. "Thank you," he said and went onto the bus. The bus drove for less than five minutes before arriving at the hotel, which didn't look too good. It was OK, but nowhere near what Draco would usually stay on. He didn't know if there was anything better, but by now he was too tired to care. He looked at his watch, but he quickly realized that it wouldn't work here; he was in another time-zone. "What time is it?" he asked, to no one in particular. Everyone in the bus just looked at him strangely. "Qanoq?" The driver asked. Draco recognized the word as what he had come to translate as: "I don't understand." He sighed to himself.

When Draco got into his room at the hotel, he immediately threw himself on the bed. He didn't even bother to change out of his clothes or brush his teeth, he simply fell asleep.

Next day, Draco woke rather early. It was still dark outside, and the clock in the room said five o'clock. He looked at his wrist-watch to find that it said seven. Three hours difference. It would take a while to get used to.

Meanwhile, Draco decided to find out how to get to a bigger town. He could see most of it from his hotel-room, and it was very small. And in a bigger town there was a greater chance of people speaking English. I turned out not to be so easy.

Fortunately Draco managed to find a tourist in the airport who could speak Danish – which, apparently, most people also spoke – and English. He helped Draco get a ticket to the capitol Nuuk, where he was going himself. Draco had breakfast with him. His name was Jens – a name Draco had to give up trying to pronounce – and he was from Denmark. He was a few years older than Draco. He was fine company, but Draco didn't much like him. He was much too… common.

Astoria had been told that Draco had went out of country to get some stuff for the wedding - "I assume you know what," her father had said. She knew he wouldn't come back, and she didn't care. She only wondered if she dared write to him. She decided that she did, so she sat down and wrote a letter.

_Dear Draco._

_I don't care were you are, but I would like to know if you're OK. Will you come back? If yes, when? And if not, should I tell them a lie? Should I tell your mother, or…_

_Astoria_

She sent it with her sister's owl, assuming that it would find him wherever he was. It wasn't of any interest to her, but she wanted to help him, because his escape meant that she could marry whoever she liked – almost. She couldn't marry who she really loved, simply because he was a muggle. Of course _she_ could run off too, like Draco had done, to marry him. It wouldn't even be too hard. But she wanted a reply from Draco first. She was desperate to keep him away, desperate to postpone the marriage as long as possible, or, with any luck, cancel it altogether.

Draco had arrived in Nuuk a few days previously. The weather was gloomy, but he supposed it could've been worse. At least there wasn't snow. Jens had disappeared, and, for the moment, Draco didn't know what to do. He hadn't been able to track down any wizards, but he had tracked down an old English lady, who'd let him stay with her as long as he helped out a bit around the house. Draco wasn't used to that sort of thing, but he knew that it was a cheap price to pay, and he had no hope of getting into a hotel. He had very few muggle money, and those he had could only be used in England. The old lady he stayed with – Cathrina – told him to get them exchanged as quickly as possible. He had counted up what he had – fifty-two pounds. About ten Galleons and eight Sickles, as far as he recalled. He had learned the muggle currency when he graduated Hogwarts, because he knew it could come in handy.

"Draco dear, won't you come and help me with the lunch?" Cathrina shouted from the kitchen. "Of course. I'll be right in," Draco shouted back. He wondered how long he'd stay in Greenland before leaving, but so far he might as well make himself comfortable.

"What's for lunch?" he asked. "Cooked seal," Cathrina replied. Draco grimaced. Not only was the idea of eating seal strange to him, he had also quickly found out that he didn't like it. He generally didn't much like Greenlandic food. Reindeer, seal, whale and occasionally, but rarely, polar-bear. And fish. Lots and lots of fish, with hardly any vegetables. He would've enjoyed the fish, had it been properly made like what he'd get at Hogwarts. He really missed school, he'd done ever since he graduated when he was eighteen. It was more than five years ago now.

Draco cooked the seal – it smelled worse than it tasted – and got some bread. He had insisted on the bread for every meal, as it gave it a touch of… well, a touch of civilization. All the meat made the food seem much more primitive than it was. Occasionally there would be something he liked – something from England or Denmark that he recognized and could eat. But mostly Cathrina insisted on Greenlandic food, which made him sick.

When the seal had finished cooking Draco and Cathrina sat down to eat. Draco only ate exactly enough to not starve. He would go down-town, he could be lucky to get some proper food there.

After lunch, Draco went down-town. He got his money exchanged to the unfamiliar currency – counting it, it made 520 of what-ever it was – and went around to look. He found the culture house in the middle of town. It was a large beautiful building, like waves, made entirely out of wood. Most houses were, and most were colored in a bright color, which meant that the town looked happy. The culture house however, had kept the natural look of the wood.

The culture house, which he found out was named Katuaq, had a café, which he went to get a piece of cake. It cost him twenty of his money, and he wondered how far the 500 he had left would reach.

When Draco got back from town he went straight to his room, sneaking behind Cathrina. A few minutes after he came up an owl flew into his window. He quickly opened the window. "Accio owl," he muttered when he saw that it was unconscious. The owl flew up in his hand. It was a tiny barn owl, with a letter attached. _Draco_ it read, nothing else. He opened it and read.

_Dear Draco._

_I don't care were you are, but I would like to know if you're OK. Will you come back? If yes, when? And if not, should I tell them a lie? Should I tell your mother or…_

_Astoria_

Draco read the letter again to make sure he could remember when writing a reply. The he went outside to burn it, as there was no fire-place here. After burning the letter he sat to write a reply.

_Dear Astoria._

_I won't be coming back, but I surely won't stay were I am now. Do _not _tell my mother. She was the one to set up this whole engagement. Don't write again, or they'll might find me. And if you want to cancel the wedding, pretend to be really offended by my leave so that you have the right to call off the engagement. And burn the letter._

_Draco_

He folded up the letter, wrote _Astoria_ on the front and tied it to the still-sleeping owl. When it woke up he'd send it, if it hadn't flown while he wasn't there. He just hoped that it would find Astoria, and that no one else read the letter.

"Cathrina, were can I get out of this country?" Draco asked. "That depends on how quick you want to go, and how much money you've left," Cathrina answered cheerily.

"I have about 500 of these, whatever it is. I'd prefer to leave as quickly as possible, but if I can't afford that, slower will do." He hated to admit that he was poor, but he was, now, and there was nothing to do about it.

"Well, in that case you can barely afford taking Sarfaq Ittuk to Ilulissat. But I might be able to get you passage to one of the larger ships that goes to Denmark. Else you've to find a job on one of those ships, or go on board without paying. However, if you're seen, then you'll be staying on board 'til they come back to Nuuk. Or, as a last resort, you could get a job here, just for a month or two 'til you can afford an airplane ticket." Draco disliked every single idea Cathrina came up with, but he supposed that he had to go.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Draco decided that he couldn't just leave, as he couldn't even afford a crappy ferry to a town some hundred miles north. He needed money, at least enough for an airplane ticket to Denmark or Iceland. Then he could stay there and find out what to do. Cathrina said he ought to go to Denmark, the she could get him roof over his head. One of her oldest friends lived in Denmark, and her daughter, who was about Draco's age, had a house that she would let strangers stay in if they did some stuff for her.

"It's mostly some garden stuff, and occasionally cooking or carrying something heavy," Cathrina said when he asked what stuff. "Naya isn't much of an impression – she's small, pale, read-haired and blue-eyed and very petite. She isn't much, physically, but she has an ego and authority to even it out."

"Sounds like a girl I'd like," Draco muttered. In truth, it sounded like Astoria Greengrass, a girl he'd rather not think of. Astoria was also rather small and petite, but she was scary-looking enough with black hair and dark, dangerous blue eyes. Just like Draco's own they looked stormy, though hers seemed to be night, rather that day, and her ego could compete – and outrun – Draco's own. But she lacked authority in everything she did, everything she said. The only reason Draco had left as she said was because he had thought of it himself. When she – empty-headed and naïve as she was – encouraged him, it took very little self-persuasion to go. So he went. To Greenland, unfortunately. He wished he'd ended up somewhere a little warmer. Southern Europe, America or Africa, maybe. Or Asia. Surely not Greenland, Northern America. Cathrina said this was the country closest to the North pole, and that she had known one of the men who lived closest. It was her second cousin's husband's brother or something. Apparently Greenlanders was as close to their family as wizards where.

Draco, who was now sitting in his room, wasn't proud to be a Malfoy, but he was proud to be a Black. He found that both he and his father had failed, and he felt that the name of Malfoy had been disgraced. However, his mother hadn't failed, and he hadn't failed as much as his father, so the name of Black was still a proud one. And there were so many Black's to make up for his and his mother's partial fail. The Weasley's, his aunts and cousins and, of course, Sirius and Regulus Black. And a whole lot of others he didn't know. All of them had managed, even if they had been blood-traitors, and traitors in general. Even Potter was better than Malfoy. He knew that his mother had gone back to calling herself by her maiden name Black. She had offered him the same, in case he didn't want to associate with his father, but he'd said no. It was also his failure, his burden to bear. And everyone knew who he was, he was by far more famous than his mother. Which was strange, as she'd saved Harry Potter, while he had just let himself get saved, and not killed him. She deserved the fame, the thanks, and, of course, the freedom she'd bargained for herself and her son. Draco knew all this, but he also knew that he could've done better. That was why he'd shown up when the Potter's had been married this summer. His mother had been invited, and she'd asked if he wanted to come. _She was probably surprised when I said yes,_ Draco though bitterly. But he'd had one bigger surprise for her, and for the Potter's. He had bought two very expensive gifts, one for each of them. He hadn't bought a gift for the godson, as most others had. He loathed the child, since his mother had helped raising it, along with her sister and Harry Potter. He'd hated his cousin, simply because she had an ability he didn't have. He envied her that, and, in Draco's case, envy led to hatred, and so, he hated both Tonks and her son.

For the Potter's, however, he had been very kind. He'd bought a piece of jewelry for Ginny – a gold necklace with a ruby lion hanging from it. For Harry, he'd bought a set of high-quality Qudditch balls. The most surprising thing he'd done was to congratulate the couple honestly – he'd even hugged Harry as if they'd been best friends for a long time. And, just like the others at the wedding, he'd kissed Ginny's cheek. The Potter's had been somewhat embarrassed, but Draco hadn't cared. He'd done something good for once, and he sort of liked it.

Next day Cathrina took Draco down-town to find a job. He said he didn't care what he was going to do, as long as it could get him a plane-ticket to Denmark, and means of getting to a place to stay which, so far, was the muggle girl Naya's place. Cathrina said he shouldn't aim too high – just go for some small job which could earn the money. So that was what he intended.

Cathrina took him to a supermarket, and landed him a job. He was supposed to put wares in place and stuff like that. It wasn't his style, but he supposed that he could manage.

"Will you learn Danish?" the manager asked. He wasn't good at English, his accent thick, and his pronunciation off.

"I think I'll learn it anytime soon. I intend to go to Denmark in some time, so yeah, I'll need to learn Danish," Draco replied. He saw no need to pretend that he was gonna stay. The manager nodded, satisfied. Draco was past caring.

When Narcissa got home – she'd stayed with her sister for almost a week – it was to find her son and his stuff gone, and a note on the living-room table reading: "I've gone off. To where I don't know. I can't face a marriage right now, especially not to a woman I don't love. Hate me if you want, but know that I won't be coming back until the engagement is called off. Draco." The note looked to be scribbled in a hurry when he left.

After Narcissa read this, she sat down shocked. She had always known that Draco didn't want to marry Astoria, but she hoped that he would slowly start caring when he was pushed into it. Apparently not. Now he'd run off. Astoria would probably be angry, maybe she'd call off the engagement. In that case she'd send an owl to Draco, asking him to come back. It didn't occur to her to lie; she was so much anti-Death-Eater as you could be, lying wasn't her style. And she knew he'd run off the second he came back to find the engagement still in question. And this time, he'd know where to go, who to live with, all that stuff. He'd just go back to wherever he was before, and he wouldn't come back next time, even if she sent an owl. He'd might – with any luck – come back for a day's time t see his mother, but it was unlikely.

Narcissa visited Astoria Greengrass to tell her about Draco's decision.

"I'm really sorry, miss Greengrass, but Draco have chosen to leave. I don't want to force him into marry you if it's against his wishes, so please don't be offended. He might come back though," she said. To Narcissa's surprise, Astoria smiled hugely. "Please, miss Black, call me Astoria," she said smiling, knowing that Narcissa preferred Black, "I am very happy to hear the news. I never much wished for an engagement, not for a year's time. However, have he come back in a year or two, I will look forward to marry him." Astoria didn't speak the truth, she didn't want to marry him at all. But this way she gave Draco some time to establish himself and to find better means of hiding than simply leaving for a far-away country.

Narcissa smiled too. "Oh well, a year or two might make him come to his senses. I'll leave him wherever he is for now, and then I'll send him a letter in a year, asking if he'll come back," she said. Astoria nodded. A year. That was how long she had.

When Narcissa left the Greengrass house a few minutes later, she was quite pleased with the outcome of the conversation. She had avoided cancelling the marriage, simply postponing it for a year. She wrote to Draco.

_Dear Draco._

_I miss you. Please come back, for my sake. You don't need to marry Astoria for at least a year. Come back to me, please._

_Mum._

She wasn't sure how Draco would react to the letter, but she send it, hoping her owl would find him and deliver the letter. Meanwhile, she was left to think about how she'd be able to persuade him to come back if he didn't respond to her letter. She wanted him back; although she'd seen more of her sister's grandchild that of her own son the last few years, she still cared for him, and she was truly sad that he'd chosen to leave so abruptly. He should've said it! That was her constant thought. She knew he'd said that she was nothing to him, but he should've said that he couldn't face a marriage. Then she would've cancelled right away. At least, that was what she tried to convince herself about.

Unknown to Narcissa, Draco tried to convince himself the exact same thing: That his mother would've let him cancel the wedding if he'd been clearer about why he didn't want it. She cared for him, he knew that, and although he loathed her for choosing her sister and her grandchild, he still had a shred of affection left for her. She was still something to him, someone. She'd always been more than his father, who was just an authority figure. Narcissa, however, had been the love and warmth that Draco instinctively had pushed away because he knew that he would loose her. Draco's cold façade wasn't there because he was raised with it, nor because he didn't feel any true affection. No, the façade was there out of fear. Fear of loosing, fear of caring, fear of loving, fear of trusting, fear of letting people in. This fear had been drilled into him at the age of two, when his aunt Bellatrix had tortured him because he'd told her about one of his friends, who was a muggle. This was before Draco knew much of blood-purity, and he'd trusted his aunt, because he knew that his parents would scold him. Turned out his aunt was much, much worse. This was about two days before she ended up in Azkaban, an event Draco couldn't make himself feel sad about. He felt almost happy. As he grew older, he found out that it was simply his aunt's insanity, and that very few people was like that, but by then, it was too late. His fear was too deeply imprinted in his mind to let go of, and by the age of eleven he'd been completely cut off from any good emotions. He was still able to fell joy, happiness, triumph and the like, but love, affection and care was beyond him.

Draco knew that next to no one would hurt him the way Bellatrix had, but it was just too much. By the time Bellatrix finished torturing him – it was almost an hour, with different curses, his parents weren't home – she'd sworn him to secrecy by the Unbreakable Vow. She'd had a close and trusted friend doing the bond. Draco had been unable to tell anyone about it – although Bellatrix was dead, that friend of hers still lived, and Draco didn't dare mention it before she died or he was on his deathbed anyway. Maybe he wouldn't mention it at all. The fear of dying was too strong to be opposed by security and safety. And h wasn't sure that the vow wasn't up, still, when whoever made the bond was dead. Perhaps if the wand was destructed… Draco didn't know. He was way too afraid. Afraid of dying, but also afraid of love, kindness, affection, care and fear. That single event had ruined him, and he hated his aunt for it. He could look at anyone around him and see them, happy, cared for, affectionate, and caring. And he envied them that, and he relished in his envy, because he hoped that it could lead him to feel the opposite too. This was most of the reason why he hated Potter – he could tell that, although Potter had been abused, he was still happy, and he wasn't afraid of letting people in. He was happy, good, and he cared for those around him. Even though his type of abuse had been far from Draco's – Potter had only been mistreated, Draco had been tortured – Draco still felt that Potter should have some of the same reluctance as he had. That was the only reason that he'd offered Potter friendship – in the hope that he might start caring slightly, if the other part didn't care. But it never occurred to Draco that Potter, although mistreated, never had been feeling any true lack of affection, because it wasn't his parents. And he'd never been tortured, never actually been harmed. Too little to eat, maybe, a too small place to live, and perhaps occasional beatings from his cousin. Nothing that he couldn't have come across if it actually was his parents. Draco had been tortured by his aunt, pressed by his father and weighed down by the high expectations that everyone had to him. He had only a mother, and it never seemed like she properly cared. Picking him up after he'd fallen over from exhaustion when his father tried to teach him something, and taking care of him when he was sick. What was that, when the counter-part was so hard on him? Why was she even trying?


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Draco never knew what made him change his plans. He supposed he was desperate to get away from Greenland.

After a few days of working in the supermarket, Draco decided that he'd take the chance and go by illegal means. Cathrina helped him find a ship going to Denmark – it would be leaving in two days' time – and get the necessary food and clothes. Draco didn't want to bring too much food, as he could simply double it up or make it more edible by means of magic. He wasn't _good_ at that sort of thing, but he wasn't bad either.

Once aboard the ship, he found the place Cathrina had told him of. It was a tiny library of sorts. A room containing books for the crew to borrow and read. But almost no one came down there, and if they did, it wasn't to get some of the ancient novels in the far corner. It was a tiny square of book-stacks, with only a little hole to slip through. He would be quite safe there.

After the first day of "living" in the far corner of the ship library, Draco realized that those ancient novels might just save his life – in more than one way. He had started reading after about an hour, just to have something to do. He couldn't move around the ship, and so he was forced to stay in the library. He could walk a round there, occasionally, at night, but he couldn't leave it, and there was nothing to do. He'd brought very little; his clothes, a few spell-books, his wand and a bit of food. Nothing to keep himself entertained. So he read the novels from the ships. Sometimes he'd go and take a newer book from another part of the library, but mostly just those novels that created his hiding-place.

After a few weeks – exactly how long time had passed Draco never knew – the ship arrived in Denmark. Draco went off to land in the dead of the night. He took a taxi to the house where he had been allowed to stay.

When he knocked the door, a girl opened. She looked rather tired, and very annoyed.

"I'm very sorry to wake you up, but I have just arrived. I don't have much money, and I was told that I could get roof over my head here?" he said. The girl's face brightened.

"Yes," she said, "of course you can stay here. Come on in, I'll find a room for you."

"Thank you." Draco followed the girl into the house. He assumed it was Naya – with her orange-ish brown hair and icy blue eyes she fitted Cathrina's description. She was, as Cathrina had said, also rather small and petite, but everything, from her voice to her posture and her eyes said that she was not someone to cross. All in all, she seemed rather scary.

Naya led him up two flights of stairs to the attic. "I'm sorry, but I've a lot of people around right now. There's a sailor who's leaving in a few days, then you can get his room, but meanwhile you'll have to stay here," she said, opening the door to a tiny chamber, probably once used for servant-girls.

"It's fine," Draco said. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. There's breakfast between seven and eight in the morning. If you're not there you'll have to find somewhere else to eat," Naya said. Draco nodded. Even if he missed breakfast he could get some, but of course, Naya wouldn't know. She left and closed the door, just as the last thought popped into his head.

Draco undressed quickly and went to bed. He was dead tired, and that bed looked far more comfortable that the few blankets he'd had at the ship, so he fell asleep quickly.

Next morning Draco was woken by a knock on the door. Naya stood outside. "Since you're new and you probably has jetlag, I thought you deserved that I woke you up. Breakfast will be gone in fifteen minutes," she said. Draco nodded. "Thanks," he muttered, uncomfortably conscious of his clothing – or lack of same. Naya just smiled, seeing his discomfort.

Two minutes later, Draco went downstairs to have breakfast. His mouth watered at the sight of Naya's breakfast; it reminded him of Hogwarts, with toast, eggs, bacon, sausages, bread of all kinds, fruit and everything else. Having lived off magically improved crackers the last week this was a feast to Draco.

However, Draco was quickly disappointed. He had eaten so little lately that he couldn't eat a bit, even if he tried. Naya looked concernedly at him. "You should eat," she said. "It's no good suppressing it. Just eat."

"I'll try," Draco muttered and picked up an apple. It tasted gloriously, and it was quickly followed by two others. Then Draco felt like eating properly, and he ate several slices of bread, loads of eggs, bacon and sausages. Naya even convinced him to try something Greenlandic – she called it 'mattak' – although she refused to tell him what it was. Draco didn't like it, and then she told him: "It's the fat and skin from a whale. I have it send from Greenland. I love it," she said and took a large piece of it and put in her mouth. Draco turned away, disgusted. Fat? Was this girl serious?

"You can come help me with the dishes," Naya said when she saw Draco sit and do nothing. He sighed, but followed her to the kitchen. "I assume you know how to do the dishes, yes?" she said. Draco smiled at her. "Of course I do. I', just not very good at it." Naya shrugged. He could; that was the important. "I've heard usually fine English men don't do the dishes themselves," Naya said as she handed him a towel. "What makes you think I'm fine?" Draco shot back. He refused to be rude to her, or cold. She was his hostess, and if she kicked him out he had nowhere to go but back to Astoria.

"I don't know. Maybe the fact that you brought an owl on board a ship. Maybe the way you talk. Maybe it's because you're wearing such fine clothes. I don't know. Either way, I think you're fine."

"Would a fine man come illegally by ship and ask for free housing?"

"No, probably not. But you could've been kicked out." She smiled. Draco suddenly realized that she'd mentioned something odd. "You mentioned an owl… I didn't bring an owl," he said. "You don't seem the least bit surprised that someone _would_ bring an owl. I didn't see an owl; I just said it," Naya grinned. "Well, I'm not surprised you said owl… Not really. I have an owl you see. As does my mother, most of my fiends and my… My fiancée." Draco wasn't sure he wanted to call Astoria his fiancée, but they _were_ engaged, whether he liked it or not.

"Really? What kind of person has an owl?"

"I'll show you the purposes of an owl if one shows up," Draco smiled. It would be harmless to tell her of owl-post. It wasn't like Muggles hadn't used it before, he knew.

"You said your fiancée had an owl. How's she like?" Naya asked. Draco hesitated. Should he act? He decided not to; he'd run away to get rid of the need for pretending to like Astoria. "I hate her, pretty much. She's petty, greedy, annoying and dominating. Plus, she lacks authority. She wouldn't be able to get her kids to bed if she had any," he said. Naya just stared at her. "If you hate her, then why marry her?" she asked. "You say that like I have a choice," he muttered. "Please… I don't even know your name."

"Draco."

"Draco, fine. Listen, Draco, it's the 21. century. No one is forced to marry against their will anymore. You can just walk away."

"You know why I came here? To Greenland and to Denmark? To work? To… To buy stuff for my wedding? No, Naya, I ran away. Away from my mother, my fiancée, my so-called friends, my so-called enemies, my school, my life, my house, my aunt, my cousin… I ran away from everything. I ran away to avoid getting married to a girl I hate. Because no matter what, in the end, it's not my choice to make, and it's not Astoria's. She hates me too. But the thing is, Naya, our way of living requires some things… Things that aren't good. Things like forced marriage. My parents didn't marry for love. One of my aunts… Well, she didn't care about her husband, she was in love with someone else, someone incapable of love. My other aunt, my mother's oldest sister… She married for love, she was crushed when her husband died. And shortly after her daughter, who'd also married for love, died too, along with her husband. I never really spoke to them, because in our way of living, some marriages are inappropriate, some… Opinions are unacceptable. We need to have only one opinion, an opinion I thought I shared… And opinion that made me hate a boy that could've been a very dear friend to me, an opinion that made me despise a girl I maybe could've fallen in love with. But the opinions of my family and my society meant that I hated them all and made friends with those who stabbed my back as soon as they had the power to do it. Naya, it's very different. Astoria, my fiancée, she knows that I ran away. I told everyone that I went to buy some stuff for my wedding. But I won't marry her, I hate her. I hate Astoria and everything she represents. And the worst part is, hadn't Astoria's sister, who's my age, fallen in love with someone approvable I'd probably married her. And I hate Daphne as much, so what's the point? It's very different Naya, it really is."

"So… If you despise her so much, why don't you just tell your mother? Or why don't you just go off to marry the girl you really love? Why come here?"

"I don't love anyone Naya. I won't. Love was taken from me, along with child-hood, at the age of two. Since I was two years old I haven't been feeling any true affection for anyone. I hated my father all throughout my life, I was scared of my aunt and glad when she went to prison for thirteen years, I pushed away my mother out of fear, I hated the only boys who could prove worthy friends and the only girls I might've fallen truly in love with, I was friends with those who tortured others – though it was mostly me who did the torture when we were younger, I gladly admit – I dated the girl who only wanted me for my money and my influence. She dumped me when I lost that. Love isn't something I'm familiar with."

"But you could be. I'll show you when we've finished," Naya said, smiling. She had something in mind, Draco could tell, but what? She blushed, all of sudden. See that was weird.

"You say you're not familiar with love… What about affection? Did you ever feel like someone meant anything? That there was someone you might actually love?" Naya asked. Draco sighed, pulling together his thoughts before answering. "I felt affection for my mother, and she was the only source of affection I had myself. I liked my godfather quite a lot – he home-schooled me every summer until I was eleven, then I was send to the boarding-school he taught at. But he died five years ago, he was killed. And to know who told me that? Not my mother. Not anyone close to me. Of course my father couldn't, he was in prison, as was my friends and my aunt was dead. I only had my mother. But it wasn't _her_ who told me. It was the boy I used to hate. The boy who killed my allies – despite me despising them – was the one to tell me that my god-father died. The boy I was close to kill at so many times… The boy who might've been my friend."

"You mention a lot of killing…"

"Yeah. I'm not a good person Naya. I killed too. I was close to killing my headmaster once. But it ended with my god-father killing him. His boss. But that's hardly the worst. I almost killed one of my friends. Meaning, I didn't ask that he was saved. There was a fire, he started it. I was there, another of our so-called friends and three kids who'd been our enemies throughout school. They could leave. They saved me and one of my friends, but the one starting the fire was left to die. And I didn't care. I was almost happy, to tell the truth. And I killed… I remember it. All of it."

"I'm sorry if this is… Morbid, but… How many persons did you kill? And how old were you?"

"I've killed seven times in all. I was sixteen the first time. Just before my last disastrous year at school. It was one of my class-mate's mother."

"Why did you kill her?"

"Because I was ordered to. I've never controlled anything in my life. Not who I made friends with, not what opinions I had on anything, not the girls I dated or the persons I hated or killed. I was ordered every step of the way. The first decision I made on my own I made five years ago. I was eighteen then. I'm twenty-three years old and I can count my independent decisions on two hands." Draco laughed. Every word he told Naya was true, and he enjoyed it. He was just surprised when she wasn't scared. He told her he was murderer, and she just asked questions.

"Did you ever go to prison? If you killed, I mean?" she asked. _Finally a sensible question,_ Draco thought. He laughed. Had he gone to prison for his crimes he'd be there still, that was for sure.

"No. My mother had me and herself bargained out. She handed in all our friends – including my father. He's in prison. Everyone I considered friends are either dead or in prison. But those who used to be my enemies… Well, let's say we can have civilized conversations now. I went to their wedding – lovely. I wish it wasn't too late. But he's quite good friends with my mother, and he's the god-father of my cousin's son. He's family." Naya nodded, thoughtfully. She didn't say another word, didn't ask another question. Not that day.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

A few days after Draco had spoken to Naya he woke to find her standing and watching him. "Bloody hell. Naya, what are you doing in here?" he asked sleepily. "You remember when we talked the other day? I promised to show you love, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did. But now? It's six AM, I'm tired."

"I have to show you now, or in the late night. You were so tired last night, I thought I'd let you sleep. There shouldn't be anyone else, and they all come down at seven for breakfast. So come on," she grinned. Draco got out of bed and dressed. He'd quickly stopped being self-conscious around Naya; she wouldn't leave if he asked her to, and she didn't care to see him undressed.

"What are you going to show me?" Draco asked. She didn't answer, she just grabbed his hand and pulled him along. Draco sighed and followed.

Naya pulled him down the stairs and into the garden. She pulled him across the large garden to a shed in the far corner. When inside, she closed and locked the door. "I know you'll leave even if I lock the door, but then no one will come in," she said and put the key in her pocket. Draco looked around. There were some cushions and a television. Not much else. Naya sat down on one cushion and motioned for Draco to join her. He sat down beside her, sighing once again.

"Now, I don't care what you think, but just watch the screen until it's finished," she said. Then she punched a few buttons on the remote and the screen flickered to live. "Gamle lort," Naya muttered – a Danish curse she enjoyed, Draco had found out.

Eventually the screen showed a clear image. A short movie – maybe half an hour – showed. It was a love story. Draco lost interest – he knew how love looked, he just couldn't feel it. Only the last part caught his attention. It was a war – a battle-scene, much like the one he'd witnessed at Hogwarts. It reminded him of when he saw Lupin and Tonks fight side by side. It was the two main persons fighting alongside each other. Then the woman was hit by a bullet. Her boyfriend stopped caring about the bullets and tried to keep her corpse safe from being hit again. He managed to carry her behind something – exactly what Draco wasn't sure, just something. Then the scene changed to her funeral, where he stood by her casket. Then he went into it, and they buried him alive. Draco found it was rather creepy, but he realized that Tonks and Lupin would've done the same for one another, hadn't they had a son, hadn't they both died.

"You get it?" Naya asked when the movie finished. Draco nodded. "Yeah, but I've seen that. I was in a war. You know what I saw? My cousin and her husband fighting together. Then my cousin's husband was killed. My cousin stopped caring. My aunt – her aunt too – killed her when she was crying," he said.

"Your aunt killed her niece? How could anyone do that?"

"My aunt wasn't sane. She… well, she started to loose it before I was born. She tortured me. I was two years old and I told her about my friend, who was disprovable according to my family. My mother would've scolded me. My father would've locked me in my room. My aunt tortured me for an hour. And she killed her niece. She would've killed her sister, had she gotten the chance. She would've killed me, had she known what I told you. But she can't. She can't kill anyone. Not anymore. She was killed herself."

"Who killed her?"

"One of my so-called enemies' mother. Well, my aunt was fighting three girls – one was eighteen, the two others were either sixteen or seventeen – and then the mother of one of them stepped up because my aunt almost killed her daughter. Then she killed my aunt. I wasn't there, I fled, but I was told. I think that woman – Mrs. Weasley – have only killed that once."

"Does it matter?"

"I'm sure she killed less than her children. I know they all killed. And her son-in-law killed first time when he was eleven. One, to give him the full credit, but he wasn't aware of that, he didn't know what he was doing. He killed _intentionally_ at the age of eleven. I hated him, but we probably could've been friends. I've mentioned him, several times, it just seems like different persons."

"Who is he?"

"His name is Harry, Harry Potter. His parents were killed when he was a year old, and he grew up with his abusive aunt and uncle and cousin after, unknowingly, having killed his parents' murder." Draco smiled quickly. Potter should have that, it _was_ impressive. "Then at eleven he went to the same boarding school as me. We met. I hated him because I was raised to. It's too bad. I went to his wedding some months ago. He married the daughter of my aunt's killer."

"There's a lot of… Family, isn't there?"

"Yes. Harry's wife, Ginny, she's my fourth cousin once removed, and Harry's my… fifth or sixth cousin, I think. And my mother's cousin's parents were second cousins. It's quite confusing, but that's how our family works."

"So you're saying that you're inbreeding?"

"Yeah. But at least Astoria isn't family. Not the slightest, or at least so far out you wouldn't call it inbreeding. I wouldn't marry her if she was my cousin. Then I'd probably be craftier about avoiding it." He flashed a smile. Naya smiled too. "I should go make breakfast. Wanna help?" she asked. Draco shook his head. "I can do the dishes if needed, but don't have me cook, that would be stupid." They both smiled, and suddenly Draco realized that he had a friend. A true friend, one he'd chosen for himself, not one his family had chosen. A friend that meant something to him.

"Do you wanna come in and talk while _I_ cook?" Naya asked. Draco nodded. "Sounds like fun," he said and followed her inside.

"There was another reason I wanted to show you that movie," Naya said while cooking. "And…?"

"And nothing."  
"What's the other reason?"

"The other reason… Well… I shouldn't have said anything. It's… Nothing, really."

"Then it can't be a reason, just a thought."

"Well, it is a reason, stupid. I just don't want you to know," she said, apparently giving up the act. "I knew that," Draco laughed. "I was just annoying you. So, tell me, what's the other reason?" But Naya refused to say anything, she simply looked at him – no, stared, sending daggers with her eyes. Whatever it was, it was very secret, to him, at least.

Draco watched Naya cook while small-talking. She told him of her life, growing up in Denmark and Greenland. It was so much different from Draco's life. She'd gone to a school with no houses, only classes – quite different from Draco's, with thirty classes, three for every year. Ten years of school, spend on regular, somewhat boring subjects, like History, Danish, English, German, French, Math and, during the times she'd lived in Greenland, Greenlandic. Draco was very interested in the languages, speaking only English himself. Naya tried to teach him a few sentences in Danish, something regular, but she'd refused to try teaching him Greenlandic. "Much more complicated, and much further away from English than Danish is," she'd said. Draco didn't bother ask why, he'd heard both Danish and Greenlandic spoken, and he could hear that Greenlandic, if nothing else, was much harder to pronounce. When the breakfast was finished, he'd managed to say things like 'good morning,' 'hello' and 'are you hungry?' in Danish. 'Godmorgen,' 'goddag' and 'er du sulten?' respectively. He didn't pronounce it right, he knew, and Naya said, but he'd gotten the words right. He found that he wasn't good with languages.

After breakfast, Naya asked him if he wanted another room. A sailor moved out right after breakfast, and if his room was cleaned it was much better than the little chamber Draco currently slept in. Draco said yes, but he realized that he shouldn't have; he had to help Naya clean that room.

"It's not so hard," she said when he'd murdered her with his eyes. "Just swipe the floor, there's a broom right there," she said and pointed at an old broom in the corner. Draco thought of his racing broom back in England, and he almost wished that old plastic thing could fly, just so he could get a ride. He missed flying, a lot. It was one of the few thing that had been good about his life back in England.

_I'll never get through this,_ Draco thought, but he picked up the broom and helped Naya clean the room. By the time he finished the floor, she'd finished everything else. Draco suspected that she had her mind elsewhere. She was singing too, a melody Draco didn't understand. He thought it was Greenlandic.

"What are you singing?" he asked. Naya smiled. "It's a Greenlandic song about singing if you want to. It's really good. It's named Erinaq – Song," she said. Draco nodded. He enjoyed the song, and Naya was a good singer.

"I'll get your stuff down. I had Anna make lunch, go have some," Naya said. Draco shook his head. As much as he liked Naya, she shouldn't see the few spell-books he had – especially not as they were on dark magic the lot of them. It wasn't his old Hogwarts school books he brought.

"No it's fine, I'll get it. You go eat, you gotta be as tired as I am." He smiled quickly. Naya just nodded.

"Yeah, I'm quite tired. But really, there's no need to be a gentleman," she said. Draco had to restrain himself in order not to laugh. Him, a gentleman? "I'm English," he said. "I was raised to be polite." He flashed a smile. Naya smiled too. "Fine, you get your stuff," she said and left for lunch.

Draco went up the stairs to get his stuff. It wasn't as heavy as when he'd left England. He'd let some stuff stay with Catherine. She'd promised to send it with the next ship, but for now he only had those few things.

After Draco had carried all his stuff down and put it all away, he went to have lunch. Naya sat down there, talking to some other girl Draco had seen before. Anna, a nine-year-old orphan who lived with Naya for the time being. She often helped Naya cook, but she didn't do much else. Draco noticed her especially because she was somewhat weird – the way he imagined a mudblood standing out. Maybe she was. He'd decided to keep an eye on her, maybe bring her to England to see if she'd attend Hogwarts. It could be fun.

"Hi. Any lunch left for me?" he asked as he sat down. Naya looked up, blushing. Anna just stared at him. "Yeah, there's plenty," she said indifferently.

"Thanks," Draco replied, sitting down at the table, starting to eat.

"I thought of driving off to somewhere this afternoon. Wanna come?" Naya asked. Draco thought of it for a moment, but before he had time to reply, a noise came from the window, and an owl flew into it. "Bloody hell," Draco muttered, and went to retrieve the owl. It carried a letter, with his name on the front. "What is she doing!" Draco said, loud enough for Naya and Anna to hear. "Who? And what's with the owl?" Naya asked. "It's mine," Draco replied tightly. "She used my owl. And she dared even send a letter. It's ridiculous."

"Let me get this straight. Someone – some she – used an owl, that belongs to you, to send you a letter?" Anna sounded perfectly confused.

"Yeah. And it's a stupid idea."

"What is?"

"Sending me a letter. Especially with my own owl. I wonder where she even got it from, my aunt has it currently."

"So she spoke to your aunt, asking to borrow your owl. Big deal. Who is she?"

"Astoria. She's my fiancée, kind of."

"How can she 'kind of' be your fiancée. Either she is or she's not. Which one?"

"It's more complicated than that. We're not engaged for our own choices."

"Whose choices then?"

"My mothers, and her fathers."

"So your parents asked you to marry… And now she's sending you a letter, which is stupid, especially using your owl. I don't get it. And why was your owl with your aunt anyway?"

"My owl was with my aunt because I'd asked her to take care of it while I was gone. It was stupid to send me a letter, because no one's supposed to know where I am. I ran away. And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to read this letter, see what was worth the risk." With that, Draco turned away, leaving Anna completely confused. Naya had slipped out of the room sometime during the conversation.

When in his own room, Draco opened the letter.

_Dear Draco._

_I need you to come back. I can't explain why, not in a letter, maybe not ever. But I need you to come back and marry me. Trust me, I hate it as much as you do, but I need it. I'm sorry. I'm not telling anyone you ran off, but please come back. Where are you? Why don't you ever write. Everyone's worried sick. You should see Potter, she's pacing her office trying to decide whether or not to send you an owl. If it matters, she's sorry that you never got along better, and she's glad you're trying to be kind. Just come back to me, to all of us. We all miss you._

_Astoria._

Draco put the letter down, intend on writing an answer. So Potter missed him. She wasn't going to much longer. He sat down and wrote two letters: One to Astoria, and one to Ginny Potter.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Ginny. This is for you," Harry shouted, bringing the little white envelope with the elegant writing to his wife.

"Oh thanks," she said. She wondered who it was from. She didn't recognize the writing, but it was beautiful and elegant. And male, she could tell.

_Ginevra_

_I heard you thought about writing to me. Don't. Stay out of it. I ran away. Unlike you, I was forced to marry. So don't ask for me. Don't reply to this letter. Don't try to find me. Why do you even care?_

_Draco Malfoy_

About the same time, Astoria was opening a similar letter.

_ Astoria_

_Don't ever write to me again. Don't try to find me. I'm not coming back. Whatever you need a husband for, find another. It's not going to be me. Or get rid of your problem. I'm not going to come back without explanation. And don't ever use my owl. Give it back to Andromeda and let it stay there._

_Draco_

The day after Draco had sent his letters, an owl bashed head-first into the window. Once again, it was his own, but this time it wasn't carrying a letter, only a tiny piece of paper with a single word written in Astoria's handwriting. Draco. She'd just sent the owl. _At least it's in my room this time,_ Draco thought. Even though Anna was there, but she didn't ask about the owl. She was just looking at him, and reading. He'd let her have a spell-book, the mildest he could find. It didn't even matter that she read it, she wouldn't believe it. Or so he thought.

"Why do you have so many books on magic? Are you a warlock or something? A magician?" Anna asked suddenly. Draco just shook his head. "But why do you have spell-books then?"

"I don't know. They're fascinating I guess. But magic doesn't exist."

"Yeah it does. Look." Anna pointed at the window and concentrated. It sprang open. Then she pointed at the shelf above his bed. All the books fell down, but the clothes remained in place.

"You're a witch," Draco said simply. Anna nodded, proudly. "It's kind of hard to do. But I can. Now tell me, are you a witch too?"

"No, only females are witches. I'm a wizard."

"So you can do magic?"

"Yeah, but not the same way as you can. You'll lose that way too, if you were taught properly. I was. I can't just do magic."

"How can you do magic then, if you don't just concentrate?"

"Like this." Draco picked up his wand. He thought that he might as well put those books back in place, so he pointed at them and mumbled: "Mobiliarbus." The books raised slightly into the air. Draco used his wand to move them back in place. Anna stared at him. "That's cool! Can I try?" she asked excitedly. Draco decided there was no harm in letting her try a simple spell. He handed her the wand. "Try to say 'Lumos'," he said. "Lumos," Anna repeated. The wand tip lit up. Draco smiled. A fine young witch he'd found. "Yeah, that's right. But you're not supposed to tell anyone. No one's supposed to know about magic, get it? I'm not sure if there's a school here. I'll find out. But if there isn't I'll bring you to England to learn magic properly at my old school," Draco promised. Anna nodded, excitedly. "Can I tell Naya?" she asked. "No. You can't tell anyone, not even your best friend. You need to keep quiet. But if you want I can send you somewhere where you don't need to keep it a secret. I can send you to live with some wizards I know."

"I don't want that. I want to stay with Naya until I have to go to school!"

"That's fine. I'll just stay here with you then." Draco smiled. He was pleased with the thought of having a witch around, even if it was one as young as Anna.

"Anna, Draco, are you coming down?" Naya called from the kitchen. "Sure, we're coming now Naya," Draco replied. He could hear the laughter in his own voice. She sounded like an angry mother waiting for her kids. _And she's probably younger than me,_ Draco thought. He didn't actually know how old Naya was, but she seemed like she was maybe eighteen or nineteen.

"Naya, I just realized; I know nothing about you. And I told you pretty much everything about my life, so you owe me to tell," Draco said when he got down. Naya nodded. "Guess I do," she said. "Okay, I'm twenty-one years old, I come from Denmark, I've lived in this house my entire life, which isn't much to tell about. I haven't got any siblings, and my parents died two years ago. My mother used to be hostess here before me; I took over when she died."

"And there's nothing? You're not married, I guess. D'you have a boyfriend or anything?" _Why did I ask that?_

"No, I don't. Which man would take a poor hostess." She sounded quite bitter, considering it was Naya.

"Oh, I'm sure there's loads who would," I said. "You're great. And I wasn't aware money played any role anymore?" I let the last sound like a question.

"Not always. But sometimes."

"If you want to be married, why don't you just marry Draco?" Anna interrupted. Being only nine years old, she seemed pretty straight-forward to me. Both me and Naya laughed.

"You just like Draco so much you want him to stay," Naya said through her laughter. Anna nodded. "Yes. So what? You can still…. Hvad hedder det? Du kan stadig bare blive gift med ham." I only understood single words of the last, as she'd started speaking Danish. Only then did I realize, that Anna, being only nine, already spoke two languages. She seemed pretty good at speaking English, anyway, despite her native being Danish. That _was_ quite impressive.

"What are you saying? Just because you speak two languages doesn't mean I do, so I'm kind of curious," I said. Naya laughed. "She just said that I could still marry you," she explained. Then we laughed at the thought. We'd known each other for what, two weeks? We weren't getting married, it was absurd. "Could be kind of fun though. I mean, not that I want to marry you, more the faces of all the rest if we were getting married… And your fiancée, what's her name?"

"Astoria."

"Yeah. Imagine if you came home, bringing me with you, saying we were married… And you're technically engaged."

"Not technically. I am. Just don't want to."

"I still don't get why you just don't dump her. Break the engagement, it's no hard. Marry whoever you want to, once you fall in love. If you can. But if you care about getting married to someone you don't love, then you got to be able to love someone… Right? Anyway, why don't you just dump that Astoria girl?"

"Because I can't. If I cancelled that engagement… I don't think I'd be alive for much longer. Mr. Greengrass would literally kill me. He arranged it all. But I suppose… If Astoria wanted she could cancel it. Or Mother could. But they won't, so…"

"So you're stuck with Astoria. Poor you. Although, if it's worth the risk coming here, isn't it worth the risk calling your mother or Astoria and ask them to cancel on your behalf? I mean, that guy will kill you anyway, won't he?"

"Yeah. And I can't call Astoria or Mother, they don't have telephones. I think Weasley and Granger got one, and maybe Potter, but… Well, I don't have their number, anyway. I'd need to send a letter, and I don't have an owl."

"D'you really need an owl to send a letter? What's wrong with normal mail?" Naya sounded absolutely unbelieving, so much that Draco wanted to laugh.

"No, I can't. Normal mail just won't work. It's complicated, and it's not just my secret," Draco said. He'd decided that he didn't want to keep secrets from her, but he had to, so he didn't keep it a secret that he _had_ secrets. She'd try to talk him out of his secrets, he knew, but he had to keep them.

"Not _just_ your secret? You can tell me the parts that yours, can't you?"

"No, not really. There's really only one part of the secret, but… Well, the secret's not only mine, it's also my family's, my so-called friends', my fiancée's, my school's… It's a lot of people's secret, I'm not going to tell you."

"Fine then. Anna, go to your room, it's a mess. Clean up." Anna looked sour. "Fine, _Mother_," she said mockingly and left to… Well, not to clean her room, Draco was sure of that.

"D'you help me with the dishes?" Naya asked. He nodded, and got up to help.

After a while, Naya said: "You know… Anna's idea… It was kind of funny…"

"You're not seriously considering that, are you?" Draco asked. He wasn't supposed to get married.

"Well, no, but… It could probably be a solution… Of sorts. You don't want to get married to Astoria, but if you already were married you couldn't. And I… I guess it's better being married to a friend I don't love than a man I love who hits me or whatever."

"Maybe you're right. But it's not only my resentment towards Astoria that had me run away. It's also because I want to marry… For love, I guess. Not for ease."

"I see. I wasn't seriously considering it either, but… Let's leave the opportunity open, shall we?" Draco nodded. The opportunity was good to have, even if he didn't want it.

"And who knows, maybe we will fall in love," he joked. Naya laughed. "You wish," she said. That way, the odd tension between them had lifted, and the work went more easy, as they talked and joked as usual. Once again, Draco realized that he had a true friend he ought to take good care of. Naya didn't want him around for his money.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Anna kept visiting Draco in his room for a while. She was curious to know about magic, but Draco didn't tell her much. He wanted her to learn it at school, like he had. It was much more exciting. At least he thought so. Of course he couldn't be sure, as he hadn't learned magic at home. And, as he told Anna, he wasn't a good teacher.

"I want to know something. I don't want to go to school not knowing anything," she said stubbornly. "None of the other kids knows much. Besides, there's two years until you're going, you're going at eleven like everyone else. If you're so curious to learn I'll by your spell-books early, then you can read something. But I'm not going to teach you anything," Draco replied smiling. He found that he sort of enjoyed Anna's company.

"Anna! Are you up with Draco again? Don't bother the poor man," Naya shouted from downstairs. "She's here. It's all-right though, I miss some company," Draco shouted. Company of children, company of friends, and company of magic. Anna was all that, the ideal company. But he still enjoyed Naya's more. She was a friend, she was joking around, but she didn't understand magic community, and he had to be careful with his words around her.

"I can stay," Naya said, popping her head through the door. Draco nodded. Naya fell down on Draco's bed and laid down, perfectly at ease. "I've missed you. You've hung out with Anna so much you're forgetting me," she said, eyes narrowing in mock accusation. Draco laughed. "I'm very sorry I prefer the company of nine-year-olds rather than a beautiful woman like you," Draco replied in mock courtesy, playing along. It was a game they'd taken to play lately; Naya acting as the offended young lady, Draco as the carefree suitor, who simply put up with her chatter. They had fun with it.

"Today, Draco, I'm serious. I _did_ miss you. I've been hanging out with Lisa and Johs the last few days, but Johs is hitting on me when Lisa looks the other way, and Lisa… Gosh, she's a pain. She gossips. And she's curious about you."

"What did you tell her?" Draco asked warily.

"Not much – well, I lied to her, actually. I told her you were some big cannon in a large English phone-company, that you were married and your wife was pregnant, and that you were here on business, and stayed with me because you knew my mother's friend Cathrina. Only the last is true, of course, I know you stayed with Cathrina in Nuuk. I don't mind if she finds out I've been lying to her, it'll mean she won't ask any more of me, at least," Naya explained patiently. Draco laughed. "Me, married?" he said. "And about to have kids? Jeez, if I had a choice I'd go straight back to school."

"But you don't. So now you're here."

"Now I'm here," he agreed. Naya turned her eyes to Anna. "Severin was looking for you," she said. Anna nodded and went out of the room. "Who's Severin?" Draco asked. "It's one of her friends. She's got a crush on him, so she'll do whatever he says," Naya replied. Then they both laughed.

"Now tell me why you sent her out," Draco demanded. Naya shrugged. "I want to talk to you. Alone. And if I may ask, why on Earth would a handsome guy like you hang around with kids?"

"I happen to like Anna. She's cute. And she absolutely adores me." Draco flashed a smile. Naya shook her head.

"Fine then. You like attention?"

"Depends."

"On?"  
"Who gives me the attention, and what kind of attention. Now, why did you want to talk to me. Be honest."

"I just… You're the only decent company around here. And your life seems interesting. So, this is an interrogation."

"Fire," Draco sighed. Honestly, being interrogated by Naya was one of the more interesting things he could do.

"Question one. What's your parents' names?"

"Lucius and Narcissa."

"Surnames?"

"Malfoy."

"What's your mothers maiden name?"

"Black."

"Okay. Question two. How many siblings do you have?"

"None."

"Cousins?"

"Countless."

"You have to do better than that."

"Let me see… My mother has two sisters. One's lunatic. She didn't have kids. The other one had a daughter. My father doesn't have siblings. Then there's all the rest of my family."

"Meaning?"

"My aunts' husbands. My cousin's husband and son. My mother's cousins. Their cousins. Their cousins. Eventually all my school-mates are family."

"You know that?"

"Yeah."

"Wow." Naya sounded perfectly surprised. It didn't seem that she knew that much of her own family.

"Fine then, I'm not going to make you name them all. Question three. What's your favorite place?"

"Hogwarts, probably. It's the only place I've felt remotely happy."

"What's Hogwarts?"

"My school. It was the best seven years of my life. Well, no. It was the best five years of my life. Then my sixth year came, and everything went wrong."

"What happened? And how come you only went to school for seven years?"

"I didn't only go to school for seven years, I just went to that school then. I was home-schooled since I was four."

"Fine. And what happened in your sixth year to make you miserable?"

"A lot of things. I was forced to… To join an… I guess you could call it an army."

"Who would force a boy to join an army?" Naya sounded offended. It sort of made Draco feel happier.

"I admit, very few would. But there's always people like that. People like Crabbe and Goyle and Lucius, people who only wants glory. And, of course, people like Bella who're just insane."

"Lucius is your dad, right? Who's the others?"

"Yeah, Lucius is my father. Personally I'm happy he's gone, but I probably shouldn't say when at home. It'll reach him, no doubt. Crabbe and Goyle are my friends – or, in this case, their fathers. And Bella is my mother's sister. She's a mental case."

"Why's your dad gone?"

"Please don't say he's my dad, I hate him. He's in prison. Serves him right. He's been sitting there for the past five years, and he's sitting there at least forty years more. If he survives that long." Naya seemed to flinch at the venom in his words. Immediately, Draco felt bad. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. It's just… He cared more for the family name, and for his own glory, than for me, my interests or my health. He only cared when he could gain something from it."

"I get it. Maybe we should change the subject?"

"Yeah, maybe." They sat in silence for a while. Eventually Draco found a way to break the silence.

"You know, we only got three questions of that interrogation. Don't you have more?" he asked. Naya nodded.

"Okay, question four. What's your full name?"

"That's a weird question."

"Just answer it."

"Draco Lucius Black Malfoy." He decided to put in Black because that was a good family. He liked being a Black, even if not by name. He was proud of that, whereas you could hardly say he was proud of being a Malfoy.

"I though Lucius was your father."

"He is. I'm named for him. And technically, my name isn't Black, but I like the name, so I use it."

"Can you use other people's name?"

"My mother's maiden name is Black. I can use it if I want." Draco flashed a smile. Naya nodded thoughtfully.

"Question five," she said. "When did you go to school?"

"That depends on whether you count home-schooling."

"I don't."

"I had just turned eleven."

"That's late."

"That's my school. I've been home-schooled ever since I was four or five though. I had to learn to read and write and stuff."

"And who taught you that?"

"My parents and my godfather."

"When did you stop school?"

"Well, that depends. I was almost eighteen by the time I stopped _going_ to school, but my last year of school hadn't been much learning."

"So you've missed a few years of school?"

"Only a year or two." Naya snorted at that reply. She clearly seemed to think that was a lot. To Draco, it just was. Loads of people had missed a few years.

"You're only going to school for seven years, and you've missed a year or two? Wow, you've hardly gone to school. I've gone to school for fourteen years."

"Fourteen? How?"

"Well, in Denmark there's eleven years of elementary school, then three years of gymnasium. After that there's some time on university, but I haven't gone to university yet, I'm going next year. For another five years. I've been going to school since I was six years old, and I only stopped a year ago. And then there's you. When did you say you started school?"

"Eleven."

For at least another hour, Naya and Draco discussed the subject of school, Naya several times insisting that he went to gymnasium. Draco dismissed the idea.

"I can read and write, but that's about it. I'm bad at math – guess you'd achieved the skill I have by the time you were in your fourth year at school – and I know nothing, whatsoever, of history, geography or anything else. I'd be useless in a gymnasium."

"What did you learn those few years at school then?" Naya challenged. Draco shrugged. "Skills. Teacups. Needles. That sort of thing," he said. He was ridiculously close to revealing his secret, but really, it didn't matter.

"Teacups and needles? What, did you learn to sew and make tea?"

"I did learn to make tea, but that's not what I meant, and you know it." Draco pushed Naya over on his bed and laid down beside her.

"Naya, I'm tired. Don't you think he should go back to your own room now?" Draco said. "Maybe," Naya replied, getting up. She stumbled over something, though, and fell straight back on the bed. When Naya picked it up, Draco saw it was one of his spell-books.

"Not as much an adult as I'd've thought, Draco," she said. "Still reading the back-story for 'Lord of the Rings'?" Draco saw that she'd picked up one of the more harmless of his books – a joke book, actually, sold to Muggles by George Weasley with the cover of a Muggle book on some old wizard. It contained some harmless magic to play practical jokes, and Draco had bought it in a Muggle bookstore because he'd realized that it was real magic, not just some old Muggle fool's beliefs.

"This is all practical jokes," he heard Naya said. "Look, here's a spell to make someone's head turn upside-down."

"It's just a ridiculous book I bought for my nephew," Draco said. True – he'd bought two versions, only coming across it when Narcissa asked him to buy a book for Teddy. Naya eyed him suspiciously. "I wasn't aware you had a nephew," she said. Draco shook his head. "That's because I don't," he replied. "He's my cousin's son. I just think of him as a nephew."

"And how come you have it – and brought it here?"

"I bought two of them. I thought it seemed funny. And I like 'Lord of the Rings'," Draco said, picking up the story she'd used right before. He had to keep up the pretense, but if she started asking him some things about that book…

"Actually, I'd like to read it again. Sadly, I didn't bring it," he said.

"I have them. You can borrow them from me," Naya said, getting up. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Draco replied. "And thanks." Then she was gone, and Draco went to bed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The next day at breakfast, Naya had brought two books for Draco. "I don't know if you want to read 'The Hobbit' first, or just want to start straight at it, so I brought both," she said. Draco took the book titled 'The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring' and looked at the summary on the back. "I'll just start straight at it," he replied. The book didn't look so bad. It was about someone named Frodo who was supposed to find a ring of some sort. _Guess it could've been worse,_ Draco thought to himself. _And there's a wizard in it. It'll be fun to see how the Muggles see wizards._

"Hi Anna," Naya said, as Anna came down the stairs. "Hi," Anna answered. She smiled at Draco, who smiled back. "Morning," he said. Anna didn't answer. She had busied herself putting jam on her bread, apparently completely unaware of everything.

Draco smiled at Anna, and went to get his own breakfast. He ate a bit, then went up to his room bringing the book he'd borrowed from Naya.

Draco sat reading for almost an hour. He loved the book – it was ridiculous, and the magic was immensely stupid, but the story caught him, and it was quite funny, although also somewhat sad.

When Draco had read a few hundred pages, he went back down the stairs to join Anna and Naya who were sitting in the drawing room, talking in Danish. Draco quickly gave up trying to understand – Danish, although more understandable than Greenlandic, was impossible for him to understand. So he sat down and listened, politely waiting for them to stop their conversation.

"Jeg vil have noget ordentligt aftensmad snart. Du bliver ved med at lave alt det der til mange mennesker, men kan du ikke, bare en gang, lave noget ordentligt?" Anna said pleadingly.

"Nej, det tager for lang tid. Hvis nogen af de andre en dag tager ud at spise, eller en eller anden vælger at tilbyde deres hjælp, så måske. Men ind til videre, nej," Naya replied. Draco, who hadn't understood a word, looked from one to the other.

"Draco!" Anna said, apparently only now realizing that he was in the room. "Anna!" he replied in the same, slightly surprised, voice. They all laughed. "Nice to see you again Draco. You disappeared so suddenly at breakfast, and you didn't come down to lunch, I thought you were gone," Naya said. Draco looked at her in shock. "I didn't come down for lunch. But I've been in my room for what, an hour? You wouldn't have lunch less than an hour after breakfast," he said in a confused sort of voice.

"Draco, you've been in your room for seven hours. What've you been doing?"

"Reading. Walking around. Practicing." Draco didn't notice what he was saying. He was too preoccupied with the fact that he'd been in his room for seven hours without noticing. But Naya had noticed. "Practicing?" she asked. "Practicing what?"

"Er… Danish," Draco said. He knew that Naya could see he lied, but he hoped she would pursue the subject. To his luck, she didn't.

"What do you want for dinner this evening Draco?" Naya said pleasantly after a few minutes. Anna shot her a murderous glare, though Draco didn't know why.

"Er, I don't know. Why don't you ask Anna?" he said, nodding towards the angry-looking girl.

"Yes Naya. Why don't you ask Anna?" Anna said irritated. Draco hid a laugh. So, it seemed, did Naya. "Okay then," she said. "Anna, what do you want for dinner tonight?"

"Creamed potatoes," answered Anna promptly. "And steak. And… Og saftevand at drikke."

"What was the last?" Draco asked.

"Cordial," Naya replied. "Which she can just go make, there's some in the refrigerator. I'm not stopping her."

"You tell me 'no' whenever I ask," Anna complained. Naya smiled.

"Then stop asking. I said I'm not stopping you, I didn't say I allowed you," she said. Anna smiled, apparently catching on.

"I'll go make some cordial," Anna said. The she got up and went to the kitchen.

Naya looked after her. "I'll end up kicking her out," she muttered.

"Why? She's nice," Draco protested. Naya laughed. "You think that now," she said, " but try living with her for nine years, then she's not."

"Nine years? You mean she's been living here all her life?"

"Yeah, she was born here. Her mother lived with my parents for a few months. This girl came here, heavily pregnant – I was eleven years old at that time, I remember her – and asked if she could stay. My mother told her yes, and gave her a room. Dad brought her to the hospital when her daughter was going to get born. But she died at child-birth. Mother brought Anna home. She's been living here ever since."

"Whose idea was it to call her Anna?"

"Her mother, Rosie, told us to call her Anna. Apparently it was her sister's name. Rosie's sister died right after she was born," Naya added, at Draco's confused expression.

"That sort of seems familiar. Do you know what Rosie's last name was?" Draco asked. Maybe Anna was a half-blood after all. Or perhaps even a pure-blood.

"Yeah. Her name was Rosie-Lynn Astories."

"Then I know her. Well, I don't, I don't even know her parents. But I used to know Rosie's grandmother, Marlene. And my godfather knew Rosie's parents – he told me the story. Rosie is the youngest of three – the oldest, Severus, was send to an orphanage when he was born. His parents, Charlene and Phoenix – Anna's grandparents – was only seventeen at the time. My godfather helped them hide the child. That's why the child was named Severus. Then there's the second-oldest, Anna – she died after she was born, as you say. She was born shortly after Charlene and Phoenix got married and had moved to Denmark. Of course, they moved here, I'd forgotten. Maybe they're still around. Anyway then there's Rosie, the youngest, Anna's mother. She's the one you knew." Draco leaned back in his chair – he'd solved his own private mystery, the mystery of how he'd come across what was probably one of the only witches in Denmark – it seemed that they were extremely rare.

"You look like you've thought of something extremely interesting," Naya said, interrupting him.

"Well, yeah, I have. I've got to send a letter…" Draco trailed off, and, without further ado, went up the stairs to his room.

Once in his room, Draco sat down to write a letter.

_Dear Phoenix and Charlene_

_You don't know me. I should start by introducing myself. My name is Draco Lucius Malfoy. I don't know how much you've heard of the Wizarding War five years ago, but if you've heard a lot, perhaps you heard of me or my father._

_ But the Wizarding War is not why I write. I believe you and Charlene had a daughter, Rosie-Lynn. She probably would've been a little older than me, in her late twenties? I can only assume you've not heard anything from her the last ten years or so. I am sorry to tell you if you do not know, but Rosie-Lynn is dead. She died nine years ago, in a hospital, giving birth to her daughter, Anna. I don't know if you know of her, but for the story I heard about Rosie-Lynn, I guess not._

_ I am writing to you now, because I know Anna. I thought you might be interested in meeting your granddaughter, and even if not, you should at least know that she exists. I would also be happy if you could tell me any means of magical education in Denmark. Where was Rosie-Lynn educated? I would like to have Anna go to a proper school._

_ Sincerely,_

_ Draco Malfoy_

Draco read the letter a few times, deciding it was okay. Then he folded it, wrote _Phoenix and Charlene Astories_ on the front, and sent it with his owl. Then he went back downstairs.

"Did you send your letter?" Naya asked. He nodded.

"How?" she asked. "You can't've gone down the stairs without me seeing you, so it would've been impossible for you to sneak off to the post office. How did you send it?"

"You've seen," Draco replied, "me receiving mail by means of an owl. You know I keep an owl in my room. I think you should be keen enough to make the connection."

"Owl post?" Naya sounded disbelieving.

"Owl post," Draco confirmed, grinning at her. Then he, impulsively, grabbed her hand. "Come on," he said. "You never seem to do something fun. Show me around the city. I promise I'll cook tonight."

"You sure? You can't cook," Naya replied, raising an eyebrow.

"My cooking's magical. You'll see. You need some time off."

"I've got to clean."

"We'll just be gone for a few hours. I'll help the cleaning afterwards. _And_ I'll take the blame if any of the others complain. Show me around the city, I've barely seen anything since I came."

"Fine then," Naya said, getting up. "But only if you buy me ice-cream." Draco just laughed. He was in a fantastic mood, and he wanted to spend some time with Naya. He liked her. She was one of the only ones he'd ever really liked. He wanted her too… Well, he didn't really know. He wanted her to have a good time. She was quite young to shoulder the responsibility of so many people. She needed some time out.

Naya led him out the door and down the streets. She seemed to know exactly where she was going, although Draco didn't know where or what she was looking for. Occasionally, she stopped to chat with people, introducing Draco. They were all rather polite, but looked at him strangely. Draco realized that he must've made an odd impression – living with everyone at Naya's house, he'd gotten the habit of wearing robes, without anyone questioning it. He should've thought of changing into Muggle clothes before this trip. Now, Naya's friends seemed to think he was strange.

Once, Naya seemed to get angry at a guy she stopped to talk to. His voice, Draco had to admit, had turned malicious, and he was watching both of them with a judging, evil look. When he looked into Draco's eyes, Draco send his best death stare at him, and the man seemed intimidated. Which was weird. Draco was rather tall, but he was lean and thin. This man was almost as tall as Draco – maybe half an inch shorter – and much more muscular. Draco wouldn't have much chance in a fight. And yet, the man seemed scared.

"Who was that?" Draco asked when they left him, tears glinting in the corner of Naya's eye.

"My ex boyfriend. He couldn't have been a worse idiot had he tried," she answered shortly. Draco decided that it was best not to ask, and instead pointed at a shop across the road.

"Isn't that a café?" he asked. Naya looked up.

"No, stupid, it's a coffee shop. You buy coffee in there. Nothing else. You couldn't buy ice-cream. I'm not going to stop until we get to what I want to show you, or we find somewhere which sells ice-cream," Naya replied, and took his hand.

Draco felt a it weird, holding Naya's hand as they walked down the street, but he decided to leave it. It was nice.

Finally, Draco saw a sign over a café which read: _Flødeis__! Ice-Cream! __Eis__-__Creme__!_

"They sell ice-cream there. Can we stop now?" he said, pointing at the sign. Naya laughed, but dragged him across the street to the little café.

"What do you want?" she asked. Draco watched the little menu card, which stated all sorts of ice-cream. With a little regret, he saw that all his favorites from Florean Fortescue – Ginger Newt and Every-Flavor Bean amongst them – wasn't there. But of course. That was wizard sweets, and wouldn't be sold in a Muggle café. But there were some alternatives. Regular ginger-cake dough ice-cream could go for Ginger Newts.

"What's this Jelly Bean thing?" he asked Naya.

"Oh, it's these beans, made of a type of jelly, which tastes of all sorts of things. Some tastes of liquor, some of fruit, some of other sweets, and so on. I don't like them, you never know what it tastes like, and some are horrible," she replied. That sounded sufficiently like Every-Flavor Beans to Draco, so he decided to take it. But his very favorite ice-cream taste wasn't likely to be there. He'd always liked pumpkins, in any shape. Pumpkin pasties, pumpkin juice and pumpkin ice-cream.

"I'll have the ginger-cake dough and the Jelly Bean," he said.

"That's a weird combination," she said. Draco smiled.

"I know," he said. "But it was my favorite as a kid. That, and pumpkin, but there isn't pumpkin here."

"Yes there is. Would you like that as well?"

"Yes please. That would be nice." He smiled. It appeared that the Muggles, oblivious as they may be, had a good taste in ice-cream. There was all his favorites, or at least something so close it was good.

Naya went to order the ice-cream. Draco stared out the window, trying to see the busy street. But his vision was sliding in and out of focus. It could be that, when he came home, Phoenix and Charlene had replied. Maybe tomorrow he could take Anna to see her grandparents. She'd be happy, would she not?

Naya came back with the ice-cream. Draco relished in the taste. He hadn't had anything this delicious since he was fifteen. Eight years. _An awful long time not to have ice-cream,_ he thought to himself.

"Draco, d'you wanna go to the cinema on Saturday?" Naya asked after a few minutes. Draco ransacked his mind to remember what a cinema was, but he had to give up.

"What's a cinema?" he asked.

Naya laughed. "It's where you can see movies," she replied.

"You mean a theater?" he said. He realized now why he hadn't understood; he'd never actually heard the word.

"No, a theater they act out the whole thing in person. In a cinema, it's just on a screen," Naya said.

Draco shrugged. "Like that movie you showed me? On the television?" he asked.

"Yes, like that. Just much, much bigger. It seems almost real."

"Whatever you say. But yeah, it sounds fun."

"So, it's a date?"

Draco hesitated. "It's a date."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Saturday afternoon at five, Draco was sitting in the living room with Jonathan, the man who'd said he'd cook for Naya that night.

"You nervous?" Jonathan asked. Draco shook his head.

"Why would I be?" he asked.

Jonathan laughed. "I don't know, maybe because you're going on a date," he said, grinning hugely at Draco.

"Yeah, well, can you call it a date when I've already got a fiancée?"

"If your fiancée don't know, then yeah, it's still a date. I know Naya thinks it is. But tell me, does she know you're engaged?" Jonathan looked half dangerous.

"She knows," Draco replied. He rather enjoyed that Jonathan got angry because he might've cheated Naya. _He's got such a simple life. He cares for a friend._

"Hey Draco. You ready?" Naya asked, coming down the stairs.

"Yeah, I'm ready," he smiled.

"Jonathan, thank you, for taking care of the food. If Anna's any trouble, just threaten her. I've come to realize that's the only way you can handle kids. Her, at least," Naya said, with a smile.

"Isn't that a bit harsh?" Draco asked when they went out the door.

"Nah. She can take it."

"I was raised with threats. It's done nothing good on me."

"You were also raised without love. Anna has love. And threats. A balance between the two. And besides, you weren't threatened with no candy for a week or anything, were you?"

"No. I was threatened with no food for a week. Or with torture." Draco shrugged. He couldn't care less. He wasn't a kid any more, and his father and his aunt, who'd been taking care of all the torturing and threatening, was both gone. Bellatrix was dead, and Lucius was in prison, where he'd stay until the day he died. Draco had no reason to visit him.

"You seem to have grown up in a hard home," Naya said. Draco shrugged again.

"It was just threats," he lied. No it wasn't. He'd been tortured as a child, and he'd endured several other kinds of punishment.

Naya seemed to notice his lie. "No it wasn't. You _were_ tortured, weren't you?" Draco looked uncomfortable. He didn't want to talk about his childhood, and especially not the torture. It just didn't seem like a good subject.

"Well, yes, I was. But I'd rather not talk about it," he said, in a slightly strained voice. Naya seemed understand.

"Right. Bit insensitive of me, I guess," she said, taking his hand. He allowed her to hold it, shaking his head.

"No, not really. But I'd appreciate if you don't bring it up again." Naya agreed. The rest of the walk to the cinema, they chatted happily, exchanging small anecdotes. Draco told Naya all he could about Hogwarts. He told her that they had unconventional subjects. Potions and astronomy, for example. He figured it was safe to mention those, as they had some sort of equivalents in the Muggle world. When Naya heard about potions, she started laughing.

"Potions? Like medicine?" she asked. Draco nodded.

"Sometimes. Sometimes also poisons. Mostly so we can learn to counteract them." He smiled. Naya's fascination with his world was rather inspiring.

After the movie, Naya insisted that they took a detour to the harbor. She said it was beautiful at night, and Draco thought she was right. She also said it was illegal to be there, to which Draco simply shrugged, pointing out that he was on a date, despite being engaged. Naya kissed him then. Just quickly, but right on the lips. She withdrew immediately, looking embarrassed, but Draco didn't mind. He actually liked it.

"It's OK," he said, and put an arm around her. They didn't kiss again, but they walked home hand in hand. It was late, and everyone had gone to bed. They both did the same.

The next morning, Jonathan immediately noticed that something had shifted between Naya and Draco. He didn't comment, but Draco caught him smiling smugly whenever he smiled at Naya, or she smiled at him. He knew that Jonathan sensed the shift he himself felt between them, and he quite enjoyed it, though he had no idea what it meant. Draco, raised to be a man of honor, felt that he betrayed Astoria, both by kissing Naya last night, but also just for going out with her in the first place, and by smiling at her now. But yet, he couldn't quite make himself feel guilty, because it wasn't with his content that the engagement had been made, and he had already broken the unspoken promise by running away.

"Draco, will you help me in the garden after breakfast?" Naya asked. Draco nodded, but he didn't look at her. He'd heard someone enter, and, looking over his shoulder, he saw Anna, much more disorganized than usual, stand in the door.

"Good morning Anna," he said. "Did you sleep well?" Anna didn't answer, she didn't even appear to have heard him. She stared into space, muttering to herself. Listening closer, Draco heard words that horrified him.

"The Dark Lord… Avada Kedavra… He killed them… They all killed… Draco and Lucius and Bellatrix and Narcissa and Rodolphus and Vincent and Gregory and Severus and Peter… All of them…"

Draco, hearing Anna talk about wizard history, happening years ago, got up quickly and grabbed her shoulders, leading her away. He didn't really know what was happening, but he knew that it was bad, especially if anyone heard what he was talking about. He heard Naya and Jonathan shout after them, he even heard Jonathan get up to find them, to know what was happening, but Draco, deciding that the emergency was big enough, Disapparated, and ended up in his room.

"Anna, listen to me. Listen very carefully. Can you hear me?" he said, twisting the key in the lock.

"I… I'm listening… All the murders… And you… And that boy… The hero… Harry Potter…" she said. Draco became increasingly sure that she was talking about something she couldn't possibly know about, something that happened years ago – history he helped writing.

"Anna, what happened. Did you have a dream? Did you read my books? What happened?"

"A dream," she muttered. "But I was awake… Draco… Jeg så ham. Jeg så den mand. Ham med de røde øjne. Han var uhyggelig. Og Draco… Draco sluttede sig til ham…" Draco gave up understanding what she was saying, and instead let her speak as long as she liked.

Unknown to him, Naya and Jonathan was listening outside the door. They heard everything that Anna said. Jonathan, American as he was, understood nothing, but Naya understood everything. She translated to Jonathan under her breath.

"Draco… I saw him. I saw that man. The one with the red eyes. He was scary. And Draco… Draco joined him… He walked to him. He could have saved them… He could have saved his friends... And his parents… His parents were with the scary man with the red eyes…" she said, speaking quicker than Anna to get everything. "The man threatened the people… The nice people… The hero… The red-eyed scary man threatened him. He said that he would kill everyone… Everyone in the school… He said they could never win… He gave them one hour… And the boy… The hero boy… He went into the forest… He said that he would die… And then he died… And Narcissa… She talked to him… He told her that Draco was safe… She said he was dead… She was protecting him… She protected Draco, she was a good woman." Naya stopped talking. Anna had gone quiet.

Draco looked at Anna. He'd caught his own name a couple of times, and even his mother's name once, but he had no idea what she'd said. However, he'd heard the story both from his mother and from Harry, and he knew that his mother had saved Harry when he'd told her that Draco was safe.

At least Anna appeared to focus now. "Draco? What happened? I had a dream, I think. No wait, I was awake, I was sitting up in my bed, but I was dreaming, but I knew that I was sitting up… It makes no sense at all," she said. Draco smiled weakly, happy that she was awake.

"No," he said. "It makes no sense. Not to you. But… Wait a second…" He dug into his bag, trying to find the only school-book he'd brought; his Divination book. He found it, and looked in the chapter on visions. As he read, his brow became increasingly furrowed.

"Listen," he said to Anna. "It's very important that you don't tell anyone. If you have these dreams while you're awake again, come tell me. Don't tell Naya or Jonathan or Severin or any of the others. Understood?"

"Yeah, sure. But why not?"

"Listen. _There are several kinds of magical visions. Those most occurring are those which see the future, commonly known as prophecies. Other, more uncommon, cases will enable the medium to see some hidden truth about the present. These kinds of visions can be dangerous, as the truths that may be revealed can give the medium power over another witch or wizard – a power that they shouldn't have. There is a third kind of vision, but it is exceedingly rare, and the chance that it should happen for anyone but a very powerful, well-trained medium is unlikely. These kinds of visions can see the past; events that have already happened, events that cannot be changed. These visions will most likely, should they ever happen, include one or more persons close to the medium, and the events will be events which have shaped their current character. Like the truth-revealing visions of the present, it can give power over others, but it also dangerous in other ways. Have a medium first experienced a vision of this kind, it will keep occurring with regular intervals – a few days between each is the most normal – until the medium at last dies or becomes insane from seeing these events._" Draco slammed the book shut. "It's the last kind of vision you have," he explained to Anna. "Which means they'll come back. And they're dangerous. You saw a war that happened five years ago. The book says you'll see events that have shaped the people you know. That means you'll probably see more events from my childhood; there's more than that war to shape me. Perhaps you'll also see events from Naya's past, I can't be sure. But I told you before that you can't tell anyone about magic – it still counts. This is also magic, and you can't tell anyone. Go wake me up if you have them in the middle of the night, or find me, but don't tell anyone else."

"Fine…" Anna said, unsure. Apparently she hadn't quite understood it all, but she had at least understood that she couldn't tell anyone. At least, Draco hoped so. They'd both be in a lot of trouble if anyone found out. There had to be a Ministry here somewhere, and they were bound to realize the existence of another wizard, accompanied by an underage witch.

Unknown to Draco, Jonathan and Naya, still listening outside the door had heard it all. They didn't understand half of it, Jonathan because he wasn't used to the British accent that Draco had, and Naya because she hadn't learned English before she was around sixteen, and didn't speak it as fluently as she seemed. And then of course because Draco spoke three times as fast as he usually did.

"Is he talking about magic?" Jonathan asked, very perplexed. Naya shrugged. She couldn't hear it.

"Maybe. I don't know. I think he is. He must be telling her some story to calm her or something. Or maybe he's just a bit crazy."

"A shame. He seems so nice," Jonathan answered jokingly. Naya laughed quietly, but otherwise didn't respond.


End file.
